Review on Princeton Artist Brush Neptune Series 4750 Synthetic Squirrel Round Watercolor Paint Brush, Size 8 by Carrie Spencer

I'm looking for an inexpensive round watercolor brush and decided to compare two that I've heard a lot about. I'm still a beginner, but I've found that the synthetic brushes I currently have just don't come up. I need to start updating my brushes. I started with Princeton's Neptune (Round 8) and Da Vinci Protein Blend. Neptune is a high-tech synthetic material that mimics squirrel hair, and Da Vinci (Round 10) features a mix of real squirrel, bovine, and some synthetic threads. These are completely different sizes. The Da Vinci is said to be larger (size 10 vs. 8), but the jump in size is very noticeable. Neptune is just over 3/4" long (including from tip to hair) and just under 1/4" wide. While the DaVinci is about 1 1/8" long and just over 1/4" wide. Compared to my current brush collection, Neptune appears to be smaller for round 8 and Da Vinci larger for round 10. Unfortunately, brush sizes are not standardized. size comparison. I drew the right side with Neptune and the left side with Da Vinci. Both hold a lot of water, but the Da Vinci definitely holds more. However, this may be due to the size difference. Both tend to flatten out with use. And not holding the edge as well as I had hoped. Neptune seems easier to use for thin lines, but again this may be due to the difference in size. Line. So far none of these brushes have shed. At the moment I give Neptune 4/5 stars. 1 star deduction for lack of strong subtlety. I'll update if anything changes as I use this brush more.